Deductions from Tournament Prize Pools - are they acceptable to you?

[tikay]

Luton, fabolous venue that it is, has disappointed many with it's "League Contribution", which is a meaty deduction from the Prize Pools. I believe Luton add money to this contribution from the players, which I acknowledge is a good thing, of course.

Walsall also do the same - add money to their "League" but take a deduction for it off the Prize Pool of regular Tourneys.

I imagine other Casinos may be doing the same thing.

Whilst I appreciate the good intentions here, & the Added  money, I am wholly & fiercely AGAINST Prize Pools being messed with.

It's a fundamental thing to me. In Tournament Poker, with the exception of the Reg Fee, it's a zero-sum game - the players stick their money in, & we get it all back as Prizes for that Tourney. There is a House edge in Blackjack & Roulette, Bookies take an edge, but there is NO edge in Tourney Poker. Which is why so many of us play it. We stick all the money in, & we get it all back. It's that simple.

Deducting money from Prize Pools is a terrible thing in my opinion, & opens the door to abuse of players money. If, for example, I only play at Luton or Walsall rarely, I am funding something for others when I do, & even if I do play there regularly, there's no guarantee I will be available to play the League Final, in which my money gets "returned".

Fundamentally, this is the most shocking thing that's happened in Tourney Poker in my time in the game, & I'm strongly opposed. OUR Prize pools belong to US, the Players, & NOBODY has the right to take money from those Prize pools without our 100% consent. I do not give that consent.

I hope they will reconsider this decision, & I'm seriously concerned that one thing will lead to another if we accept this, & Prize pools will be plundered by Organisers for all manner of Promotions.

ALL the Entry Fees we pay for Tourneys MUST be paid out after that Tourney. No exceptions.

Please Vote now.

[Ironside]

i expressed my dislike of this when i was in luton for the APAt comp


does walsall deduct from there £300 game?

[tikay]

i expressed my dislike of this when i was in luton for the APAt comp


does walsall deduct from there £300 game?

I heard that they did last weekend.

[77dave]

Im hugely against these leagues and deductions from prize pools

When the league lasts 15 weeks what am i to do

Should i stay away from the casino for 15 weeks

[jakally]

Added money = more likely I will play

Deduction = less likely I will play

I know it's not that easy in all cases, but the live poker market is getting more competitive, and there is only one good way to demonstrate that you are not happy with something - go somewhere else.

[TightEnd]

Having qualified for the 30G league final at Luton in the first section, I am now hardly attending Luton G whilst the second and third sections are ongoing as I don't see why I should subsidise the prize pool. In effect I can attempt to do my bit to ensure that the added value provided by the casino is higher.

As such the promotion is a disincentive for me, a regular, to attend.

On balance I must agree with tikay, its not a welcome development

[masterjackblack]

Absolutely not. I hate extra cash being put aside in regular tournaments for things such as 'tournament league' / 'satellite tickets' / get this a  'tournament bad beat jackpot' yes Cool Hand Luke's aka the Merrion, aka pubpoker@Dublin.com has done this. To see the small amount of method behind the madness I suppose you have to consider the angle which the casinos are shooting, which is to retain regulars as prisoners of value each day of the week wether fair or unfair to occasional / nonlocal  players. I probably fall into the category of a player getting value for all the additional funds other people are putting into these various side pools from all the tournaments I play. However I still think its bad form on the casinos part and cringe when I hear the prize breakdown of 2000 for 1st + a 500 ticket without as much of a sniff of the house declaring that 500 of the pool was a satellite deduction before the final table starts. I mean come on, just give me 2500 and let me decide if I want to enter the next 500 game or not. Even in England now its much easier for TDs to mess around with prize pools with the removal of the infamous 'Guidelines 3' which wasn't perfect but served a purpose at least to keep cardrooms from completely freestyling things. If a casino wants to run leagues with additional prizes and incentives then this should be totally separate from any funds paid into the individual tournament prize pools.

[TightEnd]

FWIW I will send the thread to Luton and Walsall when it has attracted a range of comments

We might get a view back but at the very least it will allow us to feedback our views to them

[Graham C]

I'd be disappointed if I turned up to play a comp to find money was being taken out for some sort of league thing. 

[AndrewT]

Fundamentally, this is the most shocking thing that's happened in Tourney Poker in my time in the game, & I'm strongly opposed. OUR Prize pools belong to US, the Players, & NOBODY has the right to take money from those Prize pools without our 100% consent. I do not give that consent.

As long as the fact that the money is being taken out is clearly indicated prior to the tournament, then by still taking part in the tournament you are giving your consent.

If you disagree with the policy, don't play.

I have no idea how well publicised the deduction is at these casinos - are players taking part in them unaware there is a deduction? If so, this is the part which is most wrong.

[Nakor]

Fundamentally, this is the most shocking thing that's happened in Tourney Poker in my time in the game, & I'm strongly opposed. OUR Prize pools belong to US, the Players, & NOBODY has the right to take money from those Prize pools without our 100% consent. I do not give that consent.

As long as the fact that the money is being taken out is clearly indicated prior to the tournament, then by still taking part in the tournament you are giving your consent.

If you disagree with the policy, don't play.

I have no idea how well publicised the deduction is at these casinos - are players taking part in them unaware there is a deduction? If so, this is the part which is most wrong.

When turning up to play say the £75 on a Friday no communication of this deduction is made.  Last time I attended, I took a new member and no communication was forthcoming to him either.  Agree this is very wrong.

To me the whole thing just seems to be Luton thinking on a local scale, when infact they are the best Cardroom I have visited in the UK and attract players from a big geographical area, an area that is so big that it prohibits quite a large slice of its customer base from benefitting from this League format.

[Snatiramas]

Why should I be held to ransom to support the Grosvenor marketing machine. This machine is failing badly in my opinion and let's be honest not just mine. Yes I know they are going to have to spend money topping up the pool but this promotion was just foisted upon us. If there were a dtd in this area it would just clean up.

If this were my operation I would be out of head office and listening to the punters. Maybe they would if everybody boycotted the UKGPT for one tourney. One more rthing if the session charges were increased so that the cardrooms made money in their own right why do I pay twice once for the room and once for the marketing of the room.

Very disillusioned as to how they can be treating customers in this way.........too much power in the marketplace.

[steeveg]

this stinks to me and shows the repect the casinos has for non locals, just because you play dosent mean you have agreed to the deduction you have paid under protest ,but yeah the best protest would be to not play,its a slippery slope where will it end,75% pool payouts, its very important that tikay and sites like this can highlight this sort of thing otherwise it will just get worse and ruin casino tournaments,

[thediceman]

Deductions........and I bet they still expect a tip if you happen to win the comp.

[TightEnd]

Deductions........and I bet they still expect a tip if you happen to win the comp.

To be fair,no they don't